


You're The One I Want

by theLazarus



Category: Greta Van Fleet (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, GVF, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-05-31 12:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19425688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theLazarus/pseuds/theLazarus
Summary: You've been friends with the boys of Greta Van Fleet since before their big break but as time has gone on, your feelings for the softie drummer Danny have grown beyond mere friendship. Telling someone your true feelings for them is never easy, but certainly made more difficult when that person is a traveling rock star.





	1. The Party

**Author's Note:**

> back on my bullshit

You were excited to see all the boys again after them being on tour for so long--well, even "excited" was an understatement, but you tried to conceal your glee as you passed by the few guests that were straggling in the driveway, music booming from inside the house beyond them. It had been a long time since you had seen the Kiszka house and it felt both familiar and not all at once, though nothing had changed about its exterior. It was just that everything happening in and around it was new for you--you didn't know most of the people at the party and the ones you did, you weren't close with. After all, you had moved for college while the boys had stayed back and then began their whole whirlwind of a new musical career. This party marked the end of college for you and moving back home--for Josh, Jake, Sam and Danny, it was merely another night.

That sentiment only encouraged you even more to take it easy with your sentimental glee when you got inside. You made your way through the people, the blues music reverberating against the walls, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Glancing around, you realized the decor hadn't changed since you last stepped foot inside and, when your eyes landed on photos of the brothers, you laughed a little to yourself and popped the tab of the can. It was always so easy for you to get ahead of yourself, thinking about where all of them would end up and would you guys always be friends, so you were welcoming the night as a way to ease your concerns and probably get pretty drunk. You knew Sam would be down to do shots for sure, at the very least.

Your eyes landed on a photo of all four of the boys and you felt your heart flip in your chest as you looked at Danny. You loved all of them deeply and had experienced crushes on all of them at various times, but Danny--Danny was the one who had taken your whole heart.

You were closest to him out of the four. You had fun with all of them--Josh and you had plenty of hot summer days romping around in the woods; Jake had tried to teach you some chords on the guitar which you had both quickly given up on; Sam was always trying to get you into some hijinks with him and was the one who convinced you to live life barefoot whenever you could. But Danny and you had a different sort of connection, although you weren't sure if he knew it.

It was difficult to articulate the feeling--you felt like you both were emotional soulmates, in a way. He knew more about you than anyone. He was able to read you without even trying. He knew everything that made you tick, good or bad and, what you viewed as most important, he was able to ground you when you needed to be brought back down to earth. You loved Danny and you knew he loved you too. But you loved him more than as just a friend. So with that always somewhere in your mind, when you saw Sam approaching you from the hall, you felt your body flutter with anticipation of seeing Danny once more.

"You made it!" Sam exclaimed, also holding a beer. He wrapped his arms around you and you returned the gesture, holding him close.

"Of course," you said, letting your hands linger on his forearms as you broke apart. "You think I'd miss what will probably be the only Kiszka party of the summer?"

"You're moving back, right?" he asked, his brown eyes gleaming.

"I already did," you told him. "Exciting stuff."

"Yeah, excited to be back in Frankenmuth, right?" Sam teased, poking your side. "After Detroit?"

"I could use a break from the city," you said. "Besides, Frankenmuth is home. I'm sure you guys are aching to get out of here again, though. When do you leave?"

"Two more days."

"Damn. Well, I'm glad you invited me, then."

Sam smiled.

"Where are your brothers?" you asked. "And Danny?"

"Out back," Sam said. "Come on."

"Wait,"you said, realizing you needed a bit more of a buzz before seeing Danny for the first time in so long, and pounded your beer.

Sam laughed and handed you his, which was still mostly full.

In the backyard, Josh, Jake and Danny were sitting around a bonfire, empty cans lying around them. The music was in the background then, overtaken by their words and laughter. Josh's eyes lit up when he saw you, emitting a tidal wave of joy through your whole body, and you broke into a goofy grin and went over to hug him.

"When did you get here?" he asked you.

"Just a few minutes ago," you said, then glanced at Jake. "No guitar playing tonight?"

"Nah, Josh isn't allowing it," Jake said, pursing his lips as he shot a look at his twin.

"We're taking it easy tonight," Josh informed you. "We've been playing enough, right?"

"Yeah," Danny agreed, and you glanced at his wrist. Hopefully all old injuries had healed.

You sat down between Josh and Sam, with Jake and Danny across from you. Looking at all of them, it wasn't hard to see why you had crushes on all of them at various points: Josh was precious, with his big smile and curls and rough laugh; you always thought Sam must have been perfected by the gods with his perfect skin and chiseled face; Jake was, of course, astonishingly beautiful in his quietness, and even then his exposed chest glistened slightly against the flames, only adding to his allure.

Then there was Danny--admittedly sort of tough looking on the outside but when he smiled you didn't doubt that everyone could see the gentle light within him, beyond the intensity of his face and all his dark features. He ran a hand through his thick, raven-colored hair, letting it fall over one side of his face before gently brushing it back a bit, and gently regarded you before looking back at his beer. It almost felt unfair, you thought, to be enamored with him.

You didn't want to think about them leaving again so soon after your reunion. You chugged the rest of Sam's beer as the fire warmed your calves to near-total discomfort, and you squirmed in your chair.

Jake sighed as he got up. "I'm getting another," he said. "Anyone else?"

"Me," you chirped.

"Obviously," Sam said.

"Yep," Josh and Danny said almost in unison.

Jake smirked, nodding his head. "Alright. I'll be back."

You watched him go, his languid body trailing across the grass to the house again, thinking that Jake really was destined to be a rock star.

"Oh hey," Josh said to you, jostling your arm. "Happy graduation."

"Thank you," you replied, chuckling. "It couldn't have come soon enough."

"Yeah, congratulations," Danny said, giving you a nod.

"How does it feel to be officially a college graduate?" Sam asked.

"I'll let you know when I get a better job," you answered.

"It's incredible," Josh went on. 

"My student loan debt? You're right," you laughed.

"Ah, come on," Danny said. "You worked really hard."

"Yeah, you're right," you agreed. "Thanks for saying that. You guys have been incredible too, obviously, with the records and touring." As you spoke you felt the buzzed sensation creep into your head more and more, exacerbated by your feelings for Danny. Normally you didn't have any awkwardness with him but the more you were apart, the more your feelings grew. You felt that should have worked the opposite.

Jake came back cradling beers in his arms and leaned down for all of all of you to take them. "Drink up," he said, keeping two for himself and settling back down in his chair.

You popped the tab of yours and took a sip. It was hard to believe you were sitting with four rock stars--when you met them, they were four kids playing mostly in their garage and then some scattered, tiny sets here and there, and now they were touring the world.

You caught Danny look at you again and you both made brief eye contact before he got up and announced that he would return before going inside the house. You wanted to get away from the fire for a minute so you looked to Sam and said, "Shots?"

Sam grinned. "Hell yeah."

"Don't let him get too wild," Josh warned as Sam and you headed for the back door.

"Never," you called back.

You looked over all the family photos on the fridge while Sam retrieved a bottle of vodka from a nearby cupboard, grabbing two shot glasses and pouring it out.

"Well, cheers to another Greta Van Fleet tour," you said, raising the glass.

"And your graduation," Sam added, clinking the shot glass against yours.

As you grimaced slightly, waiting for the acrid taste to dissipate from your tongue, Danny entered the kitchen. You straightened your posture without thinking, setting the shot glass down and resting your hand on the counter. You glanced at Sam, who raised his eyebrows while looking at you but said nothing.

"Danny, do a shot with us," you said to him, still feeling nervous, still feeling tipsy. The first shot had already begun to hit you.

Danny chuckled and came to you guys as Sam grabbed another shot glass and poured three more.

"You should do a cheers," you told Danny. "I did the other one."

"Uh--cheers to tonight," Danny stated. "We're all together."

Sam nodded; you looked at Danny with such love you thought he could see right through you so you averted your gaze and downed the shot, then grabbed an empty glass and filled it with tap water. You couldn't let yourself get too drunk--you couldn't spill your guts to Danny that night. Not ever.

You all went back outside where Josh and Jake were bickering--Sam happily joined them, sitting on the ground between them and looking from one to the other as they went on.

"How are you?" you asked Danny, standing beside him as we hung back. "Like, officially?"

"Officially?" he laughed. "Good. Tired but good. You?"

"About the same." you sighed. "Glad to be done with school."

"You moved back home?"

"Yeah. Hopefully soon I'll get my own place."

"Being with your parents is better than being on the road all the time."

You smiled. "You think?"

"Well, especially when you're stuck with these three," Danny replied, gesturing to his bandmates.

You laughed. "Yeah, you've got a point there. But you've been ordained a blood brother."

"'Bout time," Danny replied. "Hey, remember that trail that leads to the creek?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go?"

Oh god, you thought. It's already happening. Alone in the dark--in the woods--with Danny while you were drunk.

"It's dark," was all you said.

Danny shrugged. "So we'll get flashlights. Come on, it'll be fun."

You hesitated but looking at him made you melt, so you relented.


	2. The Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> living vicariously through this story until i die

Danny had a backpack on containing extra beers and he wobbled slightly as he led the way down the trail, both of you holding flashlights. You tried to think back to the last time you had been in the woods with any of the boys--you thought it might have been the summer prior with Josh, when you brought a bunch of firecrackers into a clearing. You laughed a little to yourself at the memory but was brought back to reality by the bitter sting of another mosquito.

You two walked mostly in silence, you following Danny carefully, watching his long strides. It wasn't a long trek to the creek but by the time you got there you had a thin sheen of sweat on your forehead. You laid your flashlight on the ground, the light shining onto the creek, and kicked off your shoes then stumbled a bit as you tore off your socks, tossing all of it to the side.

You went to Danny, moving behind him. "May I grab a beer?" you asked, your fingertips on the zipper pull.

"Go for it."

You took two out, strands of Danny's hair tickling your skin as you did so. You handed one to him and then situated yourself on the creek bed, dipping your feet in the cool water. You heard Danny following your actions and moments later he was settling down next to you.

"I missed it here," you said, looking up at the shadowed treetops.

"Me too," Danny said.

"I missed you," you told him. "When's the last time we really hung out?"

"Yeah, it's been a while," Danny admitted, taking a sip of his beer.

"Did you miss me?" you teased, nudging him.

"Yeah, I did," Danny assured you. "I was bummed that we couldn't even hang out after our last show in Detroit. And I remember you just texting me a sad face."

"It was sad," you chuckled. You couldn't help it--you scooched closer to him and rested your head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his hair, relishing in the sensation of his warm skin on yours.

"I can't believe you guys are leaving again so soon," you said quietly.

"I know."

You sighed, swishing your feet gently through the water. "I'm glad we went out here. I was getting too tipsy to handle everyone else at the party."

"You mean Josh and Jake?" Danny asked and you could hear him smirking in his voice.

"Hush, you know I adore them." You took a sip of your beer and leaned back on your hands, looking up again to see tiny, darting green lights. You pointed: "Fireflies, Danny."

Danny looked up and smiled. "Haven't got to see those in a while."

"When are you guys gonna take a real break from touring?"

"I don't know. It's not entirely up to us, y'know?"

"Yeah. I just miss you guys. And living back home won't be the same without you."

"We'll be back," Danny told you, smiling a little even through the dark.

Those words did it. You were too drunk for your own good and him and you being alone in the woods made your heart swell--you desperately didn't want him to leave. You would never ask it of him, or any of them, though they would never entertain the idea anyhow. But you felt the cloying need to then tell Danny how you felt, which meant risking your entire friendship, at least in your eyes.

You inhaled sharply and commenced moving your feet through the water, brushing against the slippery, mossy rocks. "Danny, I--" You had started without envisioning your thesis statement. You had set yourself up for verbal failure.

Danny cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"Nothing," you said, sloppily trying to back peddle. "I just really missed you."

With a comforting smile, Danny wrapped his arm around you. "We'll be back," he repeated, but it was more so the him that you wanted back the most.

Back at the house, most of the guests had departed and you took it upon yourself to coerce Sam into doing a couple more shots with you. Jake and Josh had clearly taken down a few more beers while Danny and you were away and Jake had set himself up in the living room with his guitar, with Josh draped over the couch, his shirt riding up and leaving his stomach exposed as he gazed at the ceiling, humming.

You went to the kitchen to get more water, feeling sticky with sweat and from the alcohol subsequently seeping through your pores, then felt a hand on your shoulder. You turned around and found Sam drunkenly grinning at you.

"You went in the woods with Danny?" he asked.

"God, you make it sound so creepy," you replied.

Sam gently nudged you so he could sit himself up on the counter. "Was it?" he asked.

"You and I both know Danny could never hurt a fly." You downed the glass of water and went for another. "Why are you asking?"

"I think he likes you," Sam said.

You couldn't help it--you brought your hand to your forehead and closed your eyes against your palm. "No, Sam, don't say that," you protested.

"Why not?"

"Because Danny and I have a beautiful friendship," you drunkenly declared. "And I don't want anything ruining that."

"So you don't like Danny?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, why do you think he likes me?"

"He talks about you a lot," Sam said. "Like, all the time."

You lowered your hand from your face. "Really?"

"Yeah. Anytime we do anything he'll tell us about how you guys did something similar, or he tells us about how you introduced him to something."

"Like what? Give me something specific."

Sam groaned. "I can't right now. I'm drunk."

"Sam, I swear," you replied, resting your hands on his knees and looking at him hard. "I'm also drunk and I won't be able to handle rejection."

"So you do like Danny?"

You backed away, crossing your arms over your chest. "Yeah," you admitted. Sam was the first one out of all of your friends to hear that.

"Since when?"

"A while now."

"You didn't tell him in the woods?"

You sighed and moved back to Sam, leaning against the space of counter next to him. "I wanted to," you explained. "But I just couldn't. I mean, he's one of my best friends. I love him too much to risk losing that relationship."

"I don't think he'll reject you," Sam said. "You should have seen his face when Josh told him you were coming to the party."

"But--but it doesn't matter," you replied. "Because all of you will be leaving. I can't drop a bomb like that on him when you guys are touring."

Sam hesitated then said, "That's fair."

You tilted your head back and groaned. "It just had to be one of you guys, right?"

You saw Sam grin out of your peripheral. "How could it not be?"

When Sam and you returned to the living room, Josh was passed out on the couch under a throw blanket and Jake was lazily strumming his guitar on the floor, his back pressed against the couch. Sam glanced around at the mess of bottles, cans and his brothers.

"I'm going outside," he announced. "Fresh air. Y'know."

You nodded. "Where'd Danny go?"

"He probably crashed in one of our rooms. Go check," Sam said with a wink.

You flipped him off but did just that, walking as quietly as you could up the stairs. Sam's bedroom door was open a few inches and you could see the blue-white glow of a phone on the inside. You lightly knocked on the door, causing it to open a bit more, and saw Danny's silhouette sit up on the bed.

"Can I come in?" you asked.

"Yeah, sure."

You crept in and repositioned the door in its almost-shut way and then sat on the edge of the bed. The windows in the room were open, allowing the cool night air and the residual smell of the bonfire inside.

"How ya feeling?" you asked Danny.

"Pretty drunk," he answered. "Pretty good."

"Yeah, same."

You exhaled and laid on your back next to him. He adjusted himself, scooching a little further away to give you room, and you wished he hadn't. Still, you felt your breathing slow while next to him and the scent of Sam's room and Danny himself enveloped you in comfort.

"You gonna sleep here?" Danny asked.

Shit, you had almost forgotten where you really were. You sat up: "No, sorry," you muttered. "I was zoning out."

Danny reached up and stroked your hair. "That's okay. You can sleep here if you want, but--" He didn't finish the sentence. What did that mean?

You were stunned by his fingers running through your hair. Danny and you had been drunk many times together, you had even crashed in the same bed before, but he never displayed much physical affection other than warm, friendly hugs--typical Danny. You chalked it all up to the alcohol but laid back down, turning on your side.

"Can you keep doing that?" you asked when Danny stopped stroking your hair.

You could see Danny smile a little with help from the moonlight and he commenced the action, gently brushing his fingers through your hair, starting at your temple and lacing them down to your collar. He was so gentle and careful to not tangle any of your hair and you felt self-conscious to even look at him, so you kept your eyes shut for a minute before finally mustering the strength to look back at him in the dark.

Danny did look drunk--sleepily, contentedly drunk.

You reached down and pulled the bunched up blanket over the two of you. You were going to be so uncomfortable still in your jeans and slightly sweaty and alcohol-infused t-shirt but you were not going to take off your pants in front of Danny. It was all made worse by how much heat Danny actually radiated himself--he was a perfect person to be with in winter but in Sam's bed on a summer night, it was intense.

You would have to endure.

Of course, Danny's overwhelming heat didn't feel so bad when he wrapped his arm around you. You stretched out against him, your legs almost intertwining, and nuzzled your face against his chest.

"I wish you guys could stay longer," you murmured, on the edge of drifting to sleep.

"We still have tomorrow," Danny replied, sounding more lucid than you. "And the next day."

"You guys are busy. I won't be able to see you." You gripped his t-shirt in your hand. "I'm just being selfish, anyway."

"We can get breakfast tomorrow," Danny said. "You love going out for breakfast."

You laughed a little. "This is true. Our breakfast dates were the best."

Danny twirled a strand of your hair around his finger. "Yeah, they were."


	3. The Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little ashamed to say this entire fanfic is based on a fantasy I had. But...in this household, we stan our King Danny.

Danny was still asleep when you woke up, groggy and sticky with sweat. At some point you had torn the blanket away from yourself but it hadn't mattered--Danny's body heat had been merciless.

You sat up and looked at him through your still half-lidded eyes. He really was a beautiful sight, even with his hair a mess all over the pillow and his face and his arm sprawled out awkwardly, which must have been underneath you and you couldn't even imagine how it would feel for him when he woke.

You quietly left the room, shutting the door. It was still early and you weren't expecting any of the Kiszka boys to be up but Josh greeted you in the kitchen, much too loudly for your pounding head.

"Josh, inside voice," you said, massaging your temples.

"Oh come on, is your hangover that bad?" he asked.

"Inside voice," you repeated and sat down at the kitchen table. "Danny and I want us all to get breakfast."

"Well, Jake and I already have committed ourselves to other plans," Josh said, starting to brew a pot of coffee. "So you and Danny can go. And Sam too, if you manage to wake him up."

Normally a breakfast with just Danny would have elated you but, after your unorthodox night, you were feeling nervous at the thought. Sam would have to go, half-asleep or not.

You got up. "Well, Sam's gonna get up and we're all gonna have a nice time."

Josh flashed a toothy grin.

After finally waking Sam from his slumber, which took you gently poking him to finally shaking his arm while holding a cup of coffee under his nose, you got him to agree to get ready and get Danny ready, too. You hopped over to your house to shower and get dressed, trying not to overanalyze your appearance--it was Danny. He didn't care what you looked like.

When you all got to the diner suddenly you were flabbergasted with where to sit--across from Danny or next to him? You let the boys lead, with Sam sliding into one side of the booth and situating himself in the middle, leaving Danny and you to sit next to each other. Sam raised his eyebrows at you as you scooched in next to Danny--you glared at him.

Regardless of the seating, you really needed something to absorb the alcohol still sitting in your stomach--when your waiter delivered the cups of coffee, you impatiently stirred a creamer into it and went in for a sip, promptly burning your tongue and forcing yourself to turn back to the cup of ice water for relief.

Even sitting next to Danny was physically torturous. You wanted to nonchalantly move closer to him and have your thighs touch, or at least brush your arm against his. But you stayed rigid on the inside of the booth, focusing on your milky coffee. Sam started talking to Danny about their next tour dates and you zoned out, looking out the window. You wondered if Danny had reflected on the night before or had even remembered all of it. He had seemed more sober than you but he was also good at hiding his true level of inebriation when he wanted to.

You almost regretted not telling Danny how you felt. You imagined him saying how he felt the same, as you two sat on the bank of the creek, and him leaning over to kiss you. You imagined threading your hand through his hair as your mouths met and the fireflies glowed above, the cool water rushing against your skin.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked, snapping you back into reality--the sticky booth, the burnt coffee, the sound of dishes clattering, and your best friend still totally unaware of your feelings for him.

"Yeah," you said. "Just hungover."

"You'll feel better once you get those pancakes in ya," Sam said with a wink.

It seemed like glaring at Sam was all you had done since the boys got back in town. But he was right, you felt physically revived after finishing your plate, although still emotionally starved. You found it difficult to even look at Danny and you hated that--you had been friends for too long for you to want to suddenly avoid him. At the same time, it really didn't matter--he'd be gone soon enough.

"We're going clothes shopping," Danny announced as the three of you got back in the car, Danny getting behind the wheel. "You wanna go?

What a throwback to old times, all of you going thrifting in the village, in the days of Josh picking out the most gaudy outfits that he would eventually showcase during performances, one of the few people in the world you had ever seen who could pull them off.

"Yeah, definitely," you replied, feeling a little more excited. "Sam, are you actually going to wear the clothes you buy?"

"Maybe," Sam said from the backseat.

"You need shoes," Danny said to him.

"No I don't."

"Yes, the few you have are falling apart."

You chuckled to yourself, always finding it endearing to listen to the two of them bicker. Danny turned the engine over and looked over his shoulder as he backed out of the parking space. You looked at him, mostly through your peripheral, and felt overcome with impenetrable adoration. He was beautiful. You couldn't take it. You hated that your crush on him hadn't dissipated like it had for Josh, Jake and Sam.

Inside The Clothes Line, Sam was lazily sifting through racks of pants while Danny went over to a row of loudly patterned shirts. Curious by their colors, you followed, rifling through them as well.

"Need more stage outfits?" you asked.

Danny smiled. "If I can find any." He held up a dark purple satin shirt with silver lace on the collar. "What about this?"

You reached out and touched the fabric. "I like it," you said. "And you look good in purple."

"Really?" Danny replied and you could swear he blushed.

"Yeah, you should try it on."

Danny laid it over his arm. "I'm gonna try on everything."

"I really wanna find a black velvet jacket," you mused. "Jake's inspired me."

"Oh yeah?" Danny replied with a grin.

"He just wears everything so confidently. Well, you all do."

"I'm sure we can find you something here."

Yeah, you thought. You.

You both had an armful of clothing each when you got back to Sam, who only had a few things in his hand and was still absentmindedly sorting through the racks.

"Sam, we gotta get you shoes," Danny reminded him. "Have you even looked?"

"I don't even wear shoes," Sam argued.

"Your one pair of boots is shot. You need something. One more pair at least."

Sam sighed quietly. "Fine, fine. I'll look."

You found it hilarious, watching Danny look over all the pairs of shoes while Sam sat on the little bench, pouting a little. You spotted a pair of dark brown suede boots and held them up: "Sam, what about these?"

"Those are okay," Sam said with a pinch of enthusiasm, so you handed them to him.

"These look like you," Danny said, handing Sam a pair of gold slip-ons.

Sam kicked off his sneakers and tugged the boots on, then stood up and took a few steps.

"They're not terrible," he said.

You looked at Danny. "Victory?"

Danny smiled and you felt my heart melt in your chest.

All of that was made worse when you all started trying on your clothes. You could hear Danny shuffling in the dressing room next to yours. You heard him pull his shirt over his head and then the unbuckling of his belt, which sent all sorts of short-lived fantasies into your mind.

"I don't know about this," Danny announced.

"What?" you asked.

"The purple shirt."

"Why?"

"It just--well, I'll come out so you can look."

You quickly pulled your pants back on, the pair of black jeans you had been trying on lying on the floor in a crumpled pile, and stepped out to look at Danny. The shirt looked great--you didn't know what he had been talking about. It was fitted, a little loose on his waist but it hugged his arms snugly and you swallowed as you looked over the defined muscles of his biceps wrapped underneath the violet satin. Your eyes finally moved up, to his dark hair lying over top the lace collar, to Danny looking at you expectantly.

"I like it," you told him. "It looks really good. It shows off those arms you've worked so hard for."

Danny turned around and looked in the mirror through the open door of his dressing room. "You think so?"

"How much is it?"

Danny reached for the tag hanging from the armpit. "Six dollars."

"How can you not get it?"

Danny looked down at the shirt then turned back around to look in the mirror again. "Yeah," he said. "It's happening."

You hadn't been able to find a velvet jacket but you had found a fairly elaborate velvet top, all black with blue sequins dripping down the torso. When you put it on, it was snug--too snug. You sighed as you looked in the mirror--if you could let it out even an inch, it would give your chest more room to breathe.

You tried to get it off and felt utterly stuck. It wasn't moving past your chest, the fabric was bunching under your armpits. You reached behind yourself to try and yank at the back of the neck to no avail.

How embarrassing.

You opened the door a crack. "Danny?" you hissed.

Danny poked his head out of his own dressing room door. "Yeah?"

"I'm stuck."

He cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"I'm stuck in this godforsaken velvet shirt."

You didn't want Danny to help you. You would have much preferred Sam, but you could see him from across the store, back to pondering over the racks of clothes.

Danny slunk into your dressing room and shut the door.

You looked at him, defeated and a little ashamed. You knew he didn't care about what you looked like or that you were stuck in a too-small, gaudy velvet shirt, but that made you hurt more.

"Is there a zipper?" he asked. "Or buttons?"

"If there were, I think I could've gotten myself out."

Danny gently turned you around. "Alright, well, you go up the front, I'll go up the back."

You obliged, pulling the fabric up, trying to shimmy it over your chest and past your shoulders, as Danny lifted from the back. Together you clumsily and slowly got it over, your shoulders aching a little from the excursion, but at least then you could breathe properly again.

You hadn't even realized that asking Danny for help meant him seeing you without a shirt on. You froze for a second before turning around to face him. You weren't going to shamefully cover up, but you weren't going to remain idle either, so you grabbed your own t-shirt and quickly pulled it over your head, attempting to seem casual about it.

"Thanks," you said.

Danny didn't say anything. His eyes met yours and then he reached out, running his hand through your hair, pushing it back over your shoulder and smoothing it away from your face, stepping closer.

"What are you doing?" you asked, feeling like you were suddenly plunged into one of your own dreams.

Danny dropped his hand to his side and looked embarrassed himself. "I thought you liked me touching your hair," he said.

What the fuck is happening, you thought. It couldn't be real. Where was it all coming from?

"Is this about last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I--I liked you playing with my hair," you said, grasping for an explanation. You couldn't find one.

Danny looked confused.

You felt confined in the tiny space and confined in your own feelings. You sighed.

"Danny--I just gotta say it," you began. "Despite possibly ruining our friendship: I like you."

Danny raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Like, more than a friend," you explained. "I've felt it for a while. I know it doesn't matter."

There was more silence before Danny said, "It does matter."

You couldn't even looked at him then. "Does it?" you asked.

Danny's possible answer was interrupted by a knock on the dressing room door: "What are you two doing in there?" Sam asked.

"I was getting Danny's opinion, chill," you replied, too loudly and too quickly.

Sam snickered. "Okay."

You gathered the clothes you had tried on, sloppily putting them back on their hangers, then burst back into the store, hanging the ones you didn't want on the freestanding rack. You couldn't look back at Danny. You didn't even want to see Sam's face. You had told Danny how you felt but then just felt even more confused, even more frenzied inside. It was a mistake.

Before you got back in the car Sam pulled you aside: "What happened in there?" he asked.

"Nothing," you answered, which seemed sort of true.


	4. The Walk

You were all silent on the car ride home except for Sam half-singing along to the folk album Danny had playing which you still couldn't even recognize, despite all the house you had spent listening to the boy's music. You kept looking over at Danny as subtly as you could, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but his concentration seemed to be purely on the road, with his brow slightly furrowed and both hands gripping the wheel tight. 

Part of you was still waiting for Danny's answer; another part of you wanted to forget the whole thing, just pretend like it had never happened. Telling him you liked him in the dressing room of a thrift store had never been your plan. Of course, telling him at all had never been your plan. 

Sam shot you a look when you all pulled into the driveway, raising his eyebrows at you in the rearview mirror. He got out quickly without saying anything, leaving Danny and you there. You hastily unbuckled your seat belt, wanting to escape whatever Sam had internally predicted, but then Danny's hand was on top of yours.

"Wait," he said.

You let the seat belt retract but stayed in the seat. "What?" It came out a little harsher than you had wanted.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Danny asked gently.

You paused. If you did go for a walk and Danny told you he also had feelings for you, it would be romantic. In fact it would be everything you had dreamed of. But if you went for a walk and Danny told you he didn't have feelings for you, it would be really depressing and maybe even ruin the creek for you. All the memories of you and him, and even you and Josh and Sam and Jake, romping around and slipping around on the rocks would be squandered, all because your little crush on Danny had gotten out of control. 

Still, it was a fifty-fifty shot.

"Okay," you said.

You walked back down the path in the woods to the creek, just like the night before, although everything seemed different in daylight. Birds were chirping from the trees, insects were buzzing, and the wind made the green leaves shimmer as they shook on the branches. Then you heard the creek running gently and you felt safer. No matter what, you loved Danny, whether or not he felt exactly the same. 

Neither you or Danny said anything until you got to the creek bed. He sat down on a fallen tree while you remained standing, feet on the edge of the bank, tempted to just walk into the water right then.

"Listen," Danny began. "I didn't wanna say anything. You know, because of touring. And I didn't know you liked me--in that way, so--"

As he trailed off you turned around to look at him. "Just tell me," you said.

Danny laughed a little and looked down at the ground. "I like you."

Suddenly your heart was beating so fast and hard you thought you were going to pass out. You staggered a little, wishing then you had sat down.

"Really?" you asked, a little squeakily.

"Really."

And as quickly as the rush of joy had come, it was gone, obliterated by anxiety and doubt--what did it matter that you both liked each other? Danny was leaving the next day and wouldn't be back home for months, and then he'd probably leave again.

"So--now what?" you asked. You wanted to shake the anxiety away, you wanted your heart to fully takeover versus your head for just a few minutes. You wanted Danny to hold you and tell you it would all be alright. 

"I don't know," Danny replied. "Now what?"

You relented and sat down next to him, gripping the bark beneath your fingers. 

"I didn't want to tell you. It didn't seem fair. But--after last night, and even today, I just--I don't know," you said, glancing at Danny before looking back down at the ground, at the patch of thick moss growing right under the tree. "I don't want you to go." 

You hated the desperation in your voice but you also couldn't deny it--you desperately wanted Danny to stay. 

There was silence before Danny ran his hand through your hair, gently gripping it at your ear, and leaned into you. He pressed his lips against yours softly--you leaned into him, your body responding to the moment your mind had fantasized about for so long and, again in desperation, you grabbed his shirt in your hand to pull him closer. You kissed him harder, parting your lips and, when he did the same, slid your tongue into his mouth.

You wanted more. You reached up with your other hand and raked your fingers through Danny's hair, the thick tresses you had merely imagined tousling before. You kissed for a few seconds longer before Danny broke away.

"Sorry," you blurted, letting your hand fall away from his hair.

"Don't be," Danny replied. "I liked that."

"I thought about this for so long," you said, gazing at Danny, taking in the smoothness of his skin, the shiny darkness of his eyes framed by the strong brows--it never ceased to amaze you how striking he was. 

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Come on, Danny, we're friends. I didn't wanna ruin that."

"I'm surprised I wasn't more obvious."

You scrunched up your nose, raising an eyebrow at him. "You were not obvious at all," you said. "Last night was the first time we touched beyond a simple hug."

"Well, I didn't wanna overdo it--"

"When I don't see you for months at a time, you think you'll overdo something?" you asked with a laugh. "Danny, come on."

"Be our groupie," Danny said, and you couldn't tell how serious he was.

"I wish," you replied. "But I have to find a job. A 'real' job."

"You will. Although yeah, I think it'd be cool if you really could be our groupie."

"I think it'd be cool too." 

And it would have been cool to be Greta Van Fleet's sole groupie--a friend to the band and companion to Danny, all of which would have been a dream. But you did need to find a job, or at least try--maybe groupie could be your safety net. Besides, you had just gotten back to Frankenmuth. You couldn't truly imagine spending life on the road. 

Maybe your relationship with Danny worked so well because you guys were apart a lot of the time--that wasn't a thought you really wanted to entertain, but it was still a thought.

It was as if everything went back to normal on the walk back, except Danny and you had the shared secret with one another. You could only imagine Sam's reaction to the news--Danny was bound to tell him at some point, and that was fine, but you didn't feel ready for Josh and Jake's reaction. You still didn't know what you and Danny were going to do or even what you wanted to do--all you knew was that you didn't want him to leave.

"Do you wanna hang out tonight?" Danny asked you as you got your bags from inside the car.

"I don't wanna take you away from the boys," you replied, teasing a little but at the same time being serious about your possible intrusion.

"It's fine, I'm sure they'll be glad to get rid of me for a bit."

You laughed. "Okay."

"I have to have dinner with my parents," Danny said. "But I could come over to your house after?"

"Yeah, sure," you said. "My parents will be out anyway." As you said it you had to consider how Danny would take that beyond just the facts--and you had to consider what you had meant by putting it out there. Danny had been in your house and your room time and time again but back then, you were just friends. Still, the fantasies of him lazing on your bed came into the forefront of your mind. 

Danny smiled. "Alright. I'll text you."

He hugged you, a classic snug, warm embrace, and you took it in, never wanting to take your head off his shoulder, always wanting to feel his arms around you.


	5. The Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here the fantasy comes to an end...

"You bought one of our shirts?" Danny asked, lifting the black Greta Van Fleet t-shirt from the small pile of dirty clothes on your floor--of course he would have noticed it, even amidst all the half-unpacked boxes and chaos that covered much of the room.

"Yeah, of course I did," you said, standing beside him. "I almost wore it to the party." You winked.

Danny smiled. "You could have just asked for one."

"Well, I wanted to be supportive."

Danny looked back down at the shirt in his hands. "I love that you have it," he said and then looked around your room. "I haven't been in here in a while."

"Nothing's really changed," you said. "Apart from me moving my stuff back in."

"Yeah, looks like you've still got a few boxes. Want any help unpacking?"

"Such a nice offer, Danny, but that's not what I wanna do."

Admittedly, you were feeling bold--you grabbed Danny's collar and pulled him into yourself, incidentally shutting your bedroom door behind you, your back pressed against it. You grabbed his hair, a little rougher than intended, to coerce him into a kiss. It became more passionate quickly, both of you parting your lips to mesh your tongues together. Danny held your neck in his hand, returning the ferocity, your teeth briefly clacking together messily before you sucked on his bottom lip.

You felt like you had waited for so long for that--waited so long for all of it, really. Through all the short-lived crushes on Josh, Jake and Sam, when the tendrils of your heart had met Danny, they had held on. For so long you had pined for him while simultaneously hoping your feelings would die off; you had hyper-analyzed text messages; silently begged for the slight touch of his hand when you were together; prayed he would let his arms linger around you; ached for him when you were apart, always wondering what he was doing, who he was with. 

The small lens of instagram posts and the inconsistent messages and phone calls hadn't been enough to keep you satiated. You had missed him for months. You could recall so many times during your classes where you'd zone out, pen in hand, and your mind would drift to him. The nostalgia hurt--you wanted to make more memories with Danny, not just have to look back on the ones that had passed.

But then you were together, in your room, your hands and mouths exploring one another, and it felt like a dream. 

You ran your hands down his sides, tough and slightly built over the years, the curvatures of his muscles smooth under your palms, and gently shoved him back in the direction of your bed. Danny seemed a little caught off guard so you turned and sat on the bed, pulling him back into yourself, your mouths meeting again as you laid down and urged him to get on top of you. You had thought about that for a long time--Danny over you, his weight resting carefully on top of you, his hair falling into your face as we kissed.

It was reality then--his left knee was in between your legs, his hands were on either side of your shoulders. You pulled him down and rolled onto your side, helping him to do the same, and wrapped your leg around his hips. You felt him smile against your mouth as his hand ran down your waist to rest on your ass, squeezing it a little. He moved his hand back up your thigh, your mouths separating as Danny looked down and began to sort of struggle to undo the fly of your jeans.

"You're nervous?" you asked incredulously, noticing his hand shaking slightly.

"A little," Danny admitted, still looking down. "You're not?"

You held his face in your hand and kissed him. "No, I am," you said. "But I like this."

Danny got the fly undone and slid his hand down over your panties. You gasped a little, your breath hitched, and buried your face in his neck. Danny Wagner's hand is down my pants, you thought in amazement.

His fingers were so gentle, lightly rubbing up and down over the thin barrier of cotton. You could feel yourself getting wet and you had to resist the urge to rub back up against his hand. You grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled a little, a shudder running through your body as his hand continued to run over you, and you watched him, feeling overcome with desire and adoration. 

Danny looked adorable even then, with such a look of isolated concentration before it was as if he remembered all of what was going on and then kissed you slowly, deeply. He stopped when you ran your hand through his hair and pushed it back behind his ear.

"Is this okay?" Danny asked.

You let out a quiet laugh, both from nervousness and elated excitement. "Yeah," you said. "You're perfect."

Danny smiled and bit his lip. He was perfect, or as close as anyone in your life had ever come--Danny had been your best friend and closest confidant, the one person who always managed to cheer you up, even if he couldn't be with you. His gentle nature, maturity and intellect were qualities you admired and traits of his that had captured your heart entirely. 

And, of course, looking at him didn't hurt either--the sculpted face with his strong, dark brows, the glimmering dark eyes that flashed gold in the right light, his soft lips that turned into the realest smiles you'd ever seen, all of him was just the icing on the cake. You thought that you could look at his face all day and never want to look away. 

You reached up again, stroking his hair with your fingertips, tracing the side of his face. "I wish we could have done this sooner," you told him and nuzzled his neck, gently biting his collarbone.

"Me too," Danny said. "But we have all the time in the world."

"You leave tomorrow."

Danny laid down next to you, wrapping his arm around you and rested his forehead against your shoulder. "Let's try not to think about it," he said. "Right now, we're here."

You almost protested but Danny was right--you only had the present. Neither of you knew what would happen tomorrow or anytime after that, but you had each other then, in your unmade, pre-college bed, your limbs overlapping, Danny's hair soft against your neck. It truly was a dream come true. All the waiting, all the other crushes, all of it had led up to that moment and you wished you could have stayed entangled and warm like that forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know tumblr and wattpad are more popular platforms for GVF fanfic (I'm on wattpad too lmao), but Danny just doesn't get enough love. So I'm advocating for more Danny content.


End file.
